Day 43 of the California quarantine
One of my 36 potted plants…
5/1/20. Friday
7:45 a.m. - May 1. I am so glad to be out of April, but just because it’s May 1 doesn’t mean things have changed. However, I have a new hope and optimism because we, as a society, are in a new month. South Korea, for the first time since the pandemic, has reported no new Corona virus cases. Are we on the mend?
The dog starts barking so I get up and let her out. Cheese. I go back to bed.
12:00-1:00 - I wake up then read Leaving the Witness. I drink a 16 oz Hydroflax of lemon water.
1:00 - I make my Death Wish coffee and try to order more - it’s out of stock. I read online news.
1:30 - L. and I try to back up my Ipad, with no success. My computer may be too old. L. decides to email my most important files to me [there are 3] and it works! We also devise a plan for me to access my French “CDs” as I am, allegedly, going to embark on my own French immersion program (well, something similar) in anticipation of my French summer class that I will be auditing in June. I burned the disks onto my computer, then loaded them onto my Ipad 2 years ago. Now, they have vanished from my computer, although they are still on my Ipad.
L. suggests I play them from my Ipad during my “french lessons”, or bring the docking station in from the kitchen, if necessary. It’s a good idea and reminds me that I need a better blue tooth speaker for upstairs, when I’m showering and trying to listen to podcasts. L. checks Amazon and suggests a “Beats speaker” - I’m still debating. We set up everything for French tomorrow, so it will be accessible.
3:30 - 4:30 - I take a shower. Lotion. I wear my Covid 19 outfit of yoga pants, a sports bra, and T-tank. Then I wipe down the counters in my bathroom with Windex and do a toilet swish-and-swipe. I add Lavendar essential oil and start my difusser and laundry. I call my optometrist - they were supposed to open today - and ask them to email my prescription because I need it to order glasses from glassesusa.com. No one answered so I left a message. My dentist leaves a message for me, asking if I’m still coming in for my cleaning on Thursday.
5:30-7:30 - I make dinner and go through the refrigerator as I cook, paring down and re-purposing what I can. Dinner is cheese tortellini with zucchini and stewed tomatoes. I listen to Market Place, PBS News Hour segments, NPR Political Podcast, and the Global News Podcasts. I graze briefly, but eat little of what I made, focusing, instead, on preparing a Spinach salad for myself, with tomatoes, carrots, celery, boiled eggs, feta cheese, and EVOO. L. leaves for the Starbucks drive thru so she can see R., but jumps back in the house after reporting that she saw a coiled, black and white snake in the garage. I enter the garage but see nothing although I’m completely freaked out. I eat and read Leaving the Witness.
7:30-10:00 - I work in my yard the rest of the day. There is a lot to do, especially due to the windstorms that occurred over the past two days - it’s a mess. I pick up the dog poo and rake and sweep the entire patio and everything else. Dead leaves have to be picked out of the rock landscaping by hand. I water all of my plants, then prepare a 1 part Simple Green to 3 parts water mixture, and dump it on my astroturf, bucket after bucket, until I’ve saturated the space. I listen to Martinis and Your Money and The Slow Home Podcast while I work.
10:00-11:00 Typically, I move onto the next task after my yard work - there used to be so much to do in my past life and I was very much like a robot, telling myself, “next, next, move onto the next project, next…” BUT THIS TIME, I finish the yard, get a glass of champagne, then sit at my patio table and take in the beauty of my outdoor space. It truly is a jewel, and I’m not the only one to say that - many people who have passed through this space, over the years, have said the same thing in so many words. Of course, the dog is with me and sits on my lap off and on. I read a Money Diary while I chill.
11:00-12:00 - I put the tortellini in the refrig, do the dishes that L. brought down from her room, fill the dog’s water and dog food dispenser, then make my coffee for tomorrow. I post this blog and head upstairs. Time for Waco.